Good morning. Musician Benson Boone’s Moonbeam Ice Cream Crumbl Cookie (say that five times fast) has started a trend of fans pantsing themselves in front of Crumbl employees, singing out loud, and (of course) backflipping in stores.
It seems the McDonald’s Grimace Shake finally has a worthy competitor for “Most Meme-able Snack.”
Anthony “Anthpo” Potero (right) tells Colin and Samir (left, center) the strategy behind his viral events / Photography by Jesse Leon
It’s hard to spot the difference between YouTube creator Anthony Potero’s résumé and a highlight reel of the most viral online content from the last year.
Potero, aka Anthpo, is the creative force behind social stunts including the Timothée Chalamet Lookalike Contest, Kid With Crocs, Anthony Meetup, and Cheeseball Man.
23-year-old Potero (who once worked for MrBeast) has spent the last decade making challenge videos that impact culture far beyond his 1.9 million YouTube subscribers—celebrity lookalike contests and shared name meetups are trends in themselves, at this point.
So how does he manage to pull off viral hit after viral hit? Potero gave Colin and Samir the rundown.
Lesson 1: The idea matters more than your name. Potero’s stunts follow a formula: Start an anonymous social account under an alias with no followers, then let the idea do the talking and rack up an audience.
For example: Last year, Potero made an Instagram and TikTok account under the alias of Cheeseball Man. He then put up 420 fliers around NYC inviting people to watch him (as the masked Cheeseball Man) eat a jar of cheeseballs in Union Square. Only after the fact did he reveal who he was in a video on his channel.
“In a perfect world, I wouldn’t ever have to reveal it’s me,” Potero said. “But I can’t sustainably do it if I don’t make a foundational piece at the end of it.”
Lesson 2: Take inspiration from the past. Potero’s Timothée Chalamet Lookalike Contest was inspired by a 1915 Charlie Chaplin Lookalike Contest.
“So much of what makes good culture is you take a concept and you innovate on it,” Potero said. “[My team and I] have a laundry list of things in culture that we love and hold dearly, and we ask ‘what’s the modern version of that?’”
Lesson 3: Tap into human psychology. To make content people care about, Potero applies psychologist Robert Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion to his videos.
One of the six principles is reciprocity. To Potero, that means following early followers back and responding to every comment.
Potero applied that strategy to his (Crocs-sponsored) Kid With Crocs stunt. He engaged with followers via comments and DMs and let their feedback on his early content dictate the project’s direction.
“Getting people to care is so much more meaningful than getting 10 million views on a video,” Potero said. “How do you get someone to care? That’s heart and soul. If you’re not making something impactful, people will see through it.”
To hear more about Potero’s content strategy, check out the full episode here.
TikTok Rolls Out Bulletin Board Feature
TikTok soft-launches Bulletin Boards for creators / Lindsey Gamble
In the same vein as Instagram’s Broadcast Channels or YouTube’s Communities, TikTok has soft-launched Bulletin Boards, a tool for creators to more directly reach their audiences beyond their TikTok Shop showcases or subscription services.
How it works: Select creators can send up to 20 messages per day to their subscribers, sharing updates on livestreams, TikTok Shop items, or new content. Much like Instagram’s Broadcast Channels, members of a creator’s Bulletin Board can react to messages using emojis, but they can’t comment or reply.
TikTok hasn’t officially announced the feature, but it is currently available for larger creators, publications, and celebrities on the mobile app.
How would you use bulletin boards on TikTok?
Is This Group the Next Outdoor Boys?
A group of tweens just cracked the algorithm, growing a following of over 500K in one week.
The background: The Creek Crawlers are a group of boys vlogging their warm weather escapades—fishing, biking, swimming—in an attempt to reach 10K followers by the end of summer.
They blew past that goal in no time. Creek Crawlers hit 490K Instagram followers, 64K TikTok followers, and 20 million views within a week.
And fellow creators are lining up as fans:
“W Joyride haul!” Ryan Trahan commented under one of their vlogs reviewing his candy brand.
Official Stick Reviews requested a stick review from the boys for #StickNation.
“This is my Time Machine back to summers in the ’80s!” outdoor creator Rob Chapman commented.
👀 Creator Moves
The Try Guys’ streaming service, 2nd Try, is hiring a short-form editor for social media.
Home RenoVision DIY is looking for a freelance YouTube producer to pitch and develop video concepts.
Sports commentary creator Joon Lee is hiring a part-time sports animator and video editor to work on long- and short-form videos.
🔥 Press Worthy
Streamer SV2 signs with New Balance as its first gaming ambassador.
YouTube is raising the minimum age for livestreams from 13 to 16.
Horror creators Sam and Colby open an escape room in LA.
Jesser partners with David Beckham’s fruit snack brand, Bee Up.
AMP is streaming for 30 days on Twitch starting tomorrow.
Storytelling YouTube channel TalesVision is adapting its YouTube series, Lostlings, into a TV show.
